Trigun Watch Order: Series, OVAs & Movies (Including Stampede)
Trigun is a Japanese manga by Yasuhiro Nightow from 1995 initially collected in three tankōbon volumes by Tokuma Shoten, published between 1996 and 1999. In 1997, Shonen Captain, the magazine on which Trigun was serialized, was closed, making the manga incomplete. In 1998 Trigun Maximum was published, a continuation of the first series, starting in January 1998 and ending on March 30, 2007. In 1998 it was made into an anime television series created by the Madhouse studio, consisting of 26 episodes and broadcast at home by the Tokyo TV network. An anime film, Trigun: Badlands Rumble was produced. In 2022, a new anime adaptation titled Trigun Stampede was announced for a 2023 premiere.
In this article, we are going to focus on the adaptations of Trigun, as we are going to bring you the proper chronological order in which you should watch them.
Trigun in release order at a glance
In total, there are three animated works related to the Trigun series. The original anime adaptation, an anime movie released in 2010 and the upcoming new adaptation set to premiere in 2023. Here is the series at a glance:
- Trigun (anime, 1998)
- Trigun: Badlands Rumble (movie, 2010)
- Trigun Stampede (anime, 2023–TBD)
This list orders the works in question by their release dates. If you want a proper chronological guide to the whole series, as well as the relation of the movies to the episodes of the anime, keep reading our article as we are going to explain everything you need to know.
Trigun in chronological order explained
Trigun, Episodes 1-10 (1998)
The desert planet of Gunsmoke was settled by humans, mostly living in small, scattered settlements, similar to America’s Wild West. The settlements have formed around the remains of old technologies and factories that are still used but no longer understood. Vash the Stampede, also known as Humanoid Typhoon, has a $60 billion (double dollar) bounty on its head.
He is blamed for the destruction of the city of July. Wherever he appears, he causes unrest and chaos, but this is also due to the bounty on his head. Because his pursuers and their defense usually do the damage. When the government classifies it as a natural disaster, two insurance agents, Millie Thompson and Meryl Stryfe, are sent to prevent further claims.
When they finally find him, however, Vash turns out to be a clumsy but tough guy. While he’s an insanely good shooter, he firmly claims he’s never killed a human and intends to continue to do so. Despite his protestations, Vash is now joined by the two women, who want to prevent further damage. Her journey is repeatedly interrupted by bounty hunters sent to hunt Vash, or by criminal gangs who, despite Vash’s best efforts, wreak havoc again.
They then meet Nicolas D. Wolfwood, an itinerant priest who is also a good marksman and possesses a large arsenal of weapons in the form of a giant cross. Even if they don’t always travel together, they always meet and Wolfwood becomes Vash’s comrade-in-arms on several occasions.
He now becomes the target of the Gung-Ho Guns, a group of assassins led by Legato Bluesummers. During these fights, Vash’s weapon arm, which was used to destroy July, is used against his will. Another city was destroyed.
Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010) – watch anywhere between episodes 9 and 12
In a flashback, it is told what had happened 20 years ago. Gasback, a corpulent and unscrupulous outlaw, is betrayed by his accomplices (Caine, Mechio, and Dorino) after the robbery is complete. Just when he risks being murdered by his men, he is saved by Vash the Stampede, who as usual wants to prevent anyone, even among the most ruthless criminals, from losing their life.
The rescue, however, weighs heavily on our hero, as Gasback later becomes the cause of countless victims. After 20 years on Gasback’s head hangs a very high size, whose compensation is tempting to many bounty hunters, including Amelia, a cowgirl and a skilled gunslinger. Traveling on a ship in the desert, Amelia is saved by two assailants from the humanoid typhoon. Once in Macca City, Vash tries in every way to stay close to the woman, but she rejects him.
The two meet the same evening in a club, where Vash meets the two insurance companies Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson who have arrived in town for the insurance of 5 billion on the gigantic bronze statue of Mayor Caine.
Gasback accidentally meets Nicholas D. Wolfwood who was dying of thirst in the desert. To pay off the debt, Wolfwood momentarily becomes the criminal’s bodyguard. Together with his gang, Gasback attacks the factory owned by Mechio and steals a hovercraft cargo.
Just as both Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson and Amelia are about to leave town, Gasback arrives and breaks through the town gate, and makes his way to Caine’s house. Here are all three of Gasback’s old accomplices who have betrayed him in the past. Caine, gripped by fear, shoots the other two and points to them as the culprits.
Gasback is about to kill Caine but Vash and Amelia burst into the room, even in this situation the humanoid typhoon does everything to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, even if it means allowing Gasback to escape. The criminal’s plan also includes the theft of the Plant that supports the city, which rolls downstream and destroys the insured statue of Caine.
On the run with his gang, many chase criminals fleeing the city. Vash, in an attempt to stop Amelia from getting her revenge on Gasback (at the very risk of damaging the Plant), is hit by a gunshot fired by one of the criminals. He falls into quicksand and is presumed dead, but Meryl and Milly, passing by, find Vash unharmed.
Meanwhile, Amelia and Reverend Wolfwood try to recover the Plant to save the city. Once the gang is defeated, Vash arrives during the clash with Gasback. He manages to injure the criminal in the leg and shoulder, but only Amelia manages to stop him thanks to a special glove made by Gasback himself and given to Amelia’s mother 20 years earlier.
In this situation, the criminal, having surrendered, learns that the woman is dead and that Amelia is his daughter. Gasback decides to give himself up and the proceeds of the bounty are donated to the city. Amelia follows him as he is taken away, handcuffed by law enforcement along with the rest of the gang. From the final dialogue between Vash and Wolfwood we learn that Amelia is 19, so if Vash hadn’t helped Gasback 20 years earlier, she wouldn’t have been born.
Trigun, Episodes 11-26 (1998)
The Gung-Ho Guns were unleashed by Knives on Vash, an old rival of Vash. Their past together is related to the colonization of the planet, which is now being revealed. Twins Vash and Knives grew up on a spaceship that was part of a fleet of ships tasked with bringing settlers from Earth to a new habitat.
The two grew up amazingly quickly, which scared some of those around them. However, a young woman named Rem raised the two and raised them as humanistic, peace-loving individuals. However, Knives refused and eventually kills the crew and crashes the fleet on the desert planet. He wants to wipe out all people who are lower beings for him.
Rem, who is loved by Vash, is able to prevent all the people in the fleet from dying before she dies, so that the planet can still be settled. After the crash, Vash seeks revenge, but doesn’t want to betray Rem’s pacifist upbringing. The attacks of the gung-ho guns always draw in the people around Vash, especially Meryl and Millie, and Wolfwood.
Vash would rather travel on alone, but the two women don’t want to leave him alone either. At the showdown, Wolfwood turns out to be part of the Gung-Ho Guns, but he doesn’t want to betray Vash and dies in the process. After defeating the others, Legato confronts Vash. He takes Meryl and Millie hostage, forcing Vash to shoot him.
This outcome of events, planned by Knives, is intended to cause Vash the greatest possible torment, since he broke his promise to Rem and killed a human being. Finally, the siblings meet and a fight ensues, in which the respective weapon arms are also used. Vash is able to use his weapon’s effect to negate Knives’ attack and defeat him, but does not kill him.
Trigun Stampede (2023?)
We’ve placed the upcoming anime adaptation here, but we don’t actually know where in the chronology Trigun Stampede is going to take place. We know that it is going to be a “new adaptation”, which probably means that they’re going to start off from chapter one, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all goes to confirm the final chronology.
